Raphael in The Lovers

I'm going to miss your wisdom and exhaustless research. It's been very insightful to me.

I'm normally looking at Thoth and associated areas... Abrac's interesting research and thoughtful integrity in trying to determine Waite's meanings for the cards draws me over. It feels like the few people such as him will be lost and with it depth of underlying traditions.

I'll be registering with one or more of the new forums if any of them have a dedicated RWS forum. But I'm beginning to wonder how suitable any of them would be really. Ideally there would be one RWS area dedicated to intuitive/reading type stuff and another for historical research and in-depth study the symbolism. I may just start my own blog.

I'll be registering with one or more of the new forums if any of them have a dedicated RWS forum. But I'm beginning to wonder how suitable any of them would be really. Ideally there would be one RWS area dedicated to intuitive/reading type stuff and another for historical research and in-depth study the symbolism. I may just start my own blog.

Here in Eden, before the fall, the lovers have that connection, and so hand holding is not necessary. Even being in the same space is not necessary. The Pillars are "united" into one by the winged figure. Which makes that figure both outside of them as a power, but also emblematic of their twin souls united as one on a higher plane.

According to Introduction of The Zohar written by Rav. Berg, the two pillars also represent two parallel universe. The Tree of Knowledge pillar signifies the mundane world with pain, sickness, suffering, chaos, mortality and problems. The Tree of Life pillar signifies the Garden of Eden with no suffering, immortality, no pain, no sickness, eternal peace and quiet. So the man and woman in the Lovers card are actually separated existence in different universe. The two could unite either in the mundane world or in Garden of Eden depending on their choice made by will and the help of divine.

"According to later Kabbalism, the Great Countenance is Macroprosopus, the soul of the greater world, while the Lesser Countenance or Figure is Microprosopus, the soul of the lesser world, and Adam Protoplastes, his Bride being the archetypal Eve. They form together the Habitaculum of all created intelligences, the herarchies of consciousness." The Holy Kabbalah, p. 211.

Just as Waite saw many religions as containing the seed of the Secret Tradition and many figures as expressions of energies like Shekinah and the Christ, so, too, the figures in this card can (and should) be viewed as multi-dimensional. Each metaphor points to the Way, the Truth and the Light which is beyond words and symbols.

The Aeclectic Tarot Forum closed permanently on July 14th, 2017. The public threads remain online as a read-only archive and resource. More information on our decision can be found here. Thank you for being a part of our active community over the past seventeen years.